


All the Good Ones

by gingerfic



Series: An Alphabet of Samcedes Stories [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blam, Klaine in background, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Multi, samcedes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 22:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5022424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingerfic/pseuds/gingerfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mercedes has some new neighbors in her apartment complex. They are really friendly, and really cute. It’s too bad they’re dating each other. Because you know what they say, all the good ones are either taken or gay (or both)...aren’t they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the Good Ones

**Author's Note:**

> beta by voyagehk

Mercedes had seen the moving van parked beside her building on the way to work that morning, but she had been running late and hadn’t stopped to introduce herself. That was why she was taking cookies to apartment B1 now. 

She rapped smartly on the door and waited for only a moment before an attractive young man opened the door. He was just taller than she was (which wasn’t very tall), and had dark hair that was neatly and carefully styled.

“Hi, I’m Mercedes, I’m one of your neighbors and I just wanted to welcome you to Courtyard Plaza Apartments.” She held out the plate of cookies. “I hope you like chocolate chip.”

“Chocolate chip?” another voice asked from somewhere unseen. A moment later a tall, blond man slipped around the edge of the door, one of his hands dragging along the shorter man’s back as he thrust his other hand toward Mercedes. “Hi, I’m Sam!”

“Blaine,” the short one said with a smile, inclining his head slightly as he accepted the plate of cookies. “Thank you so much, Mercedes. That’s so nice of you. We’d invite you in but we’ve barely started unpacking and it’s--”

“No, no!” Mercedes assured them, not wanting to make things awkward. “I just came to drop off the cookies and introduce myself. I’ll be on my way now. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” She flashed them a grin and turned to go.

“Thank you again,” Blaine called after her with a little wave.

“Yah, thanks,” Sam echoed, his mouth obviously already full of cookie.

Mercedes smiled wryly to herself as she returned to her own apartment. They say that all the best men are either gay or taken... Or in this case (obviously), both. 

\-----

Mercedes didn’t spend a lot of time at her apartment. She had a good job, and other friends in the city, and simply didn’t have many reasons to hang out at home. She saw Blaine or Sam in the stairwell or by the mailboxes sometimes, and they always exchanged greetings with her, but it was never anything particular.

In spite of that, Mercedes couldn't help the little pitter-pat that her heart made every time she saw them. Well, no, just when she saw Sam. Blaine was really nice and definitely cute in his own way, but he wasn't really her type. But Sam, ugh! He was just so...

One time she ran into him in the lobby when he had just come in from a run. It was summertime and he had taken off his shirt and tucked it into the back of his shorts. 

_ Oh dear sweet lord. _

"Hey," he greeted as he breezed past her. "It's gorgeous out."

She smiled quickly and kept her eyes on the door. "That's great," she managed; then bit her tongue before it blurted something about it being gorgeous inside too.

\-----

It was about a month after they moved in that she ran into Sam in the apartment complex laundry room. She was waiting for her last load to finish in the dryer when he burst through the door with three laundry baskets stacked on top of each other. He couldn’t really see over the top of them, which became obvious when he crashed into the doorframe and the two he wasn’t holding toppled off, scattering clothing all across the floor.

“Oh no, Blaine said to make sure I didn’t mix up the loads,” Sam moaned to himself. He set down the other basket on the floor and started picking up the dropped clothes. “I had them all in order so I wouldn’t mix them up and now…oh, hi Mercedes!”

“Hi,” she said, kneeling down on the floor to help him gather everything back into the basket. “I can help you, if you want?”

“Um, thanks, but Blaine is pretty particular about the laundry. Usually he just does it but he had to work a double shift this weekend and I thought I could do it. But now I don’t know. Maybe I should just take it all back up…”

“Hey, hey,” Mercedes reassured him. “I’m sure we can figure it out. Which loads were these supposed to be?”

“Darks on cold, delicates on a short cycle, and boshrbreef sowrm…” his voice got softer and less distinct as he finished his explanation. 

"Pardon?"

"Um, sorry, boxers and briefs?"

"Right," she nodded toward the one basket that still held its contents. "Underwear on warm?"

Sam nodded as he collected the last of the scattered clothing together and looked at it glumly. "I guess I can run that load at least, but I should let Blaine re-sort these ones because he might not like how I do it."

Mercedes shrugged. "Well, I can help, and if we get something wrong you can blame it on me?"

Sam's eyes lit up. "Really? That's awfully nice of you..."

"Sure, that's what neighbors are for!"

As Sam took the underwear load to a washing machine and started filling it, Mercedes couldn’t help but notice one--no, two--no, quite a few of the underwear had superhero logos on them. And that wasn’t, light sabers? She tried to stifle a giggle and saw Sam’s ears turn red, so she made herself focus on sorting the delicate items out from the others in the remaining laundry. 

"So," she ventured. "How long have you two been together?"

"We met in high school," Sam replied distractedly as he measured out the soap. "We've been pretty inseparable for five years now."

“Aww, that’s sweet,” Mercedes cooed. 

“He’s my best friend,” Sam went on. “We moved in together as soon as we graduated.”

Mercedes was torn between mooning over the adorable relationship that obviously existed between Blaine and Sam, and feeling slightly jealous they had each other and were therefore off limits to her. She hadn’t had a boyfriend in nearly two years and it got lonely sometimes.

So she changed the subject. “How are you liking the Courtyard Plaza Apartments?”

“Oh they’re great. We love how close it is to the subway. Blaine’s school is near here so it’s a good location for him, and we really like the open layout of the apartment.”

Mercedes nodded, her attention still on the clothing she was sorting. “Those can be hard to find here in downtown.”

“I know, right?” Sam went on, turning around and gesturing in the air now that he had started the washing machine. “But you know the one thing I don’t like?”

“What’s that?”

“There’s no courtyard! What’s with that? I mean, it’s called the Courtyard Plaza Apartments. I thought there would be a courtyard, ya know? Where we could have like barbeques and stuff.”

“There’s no plaza either,” Mercedes giggled, turning around to face him now that she had all the clothes divided.

“Exactly!” Sam’s gestures were so wide he nearly hit Mercedes in the arm with them. “Oh, sorry! It’s just that it’s such a dumb name!”

“Misleading?”

“Yes! Why couldn’t they just call them the McKinley Street Apartments?”

“I guess that would--” Mercedes was cut off by the loud buzzer of a dryer finishing. “--make sense.” She glance over and saw that it was her clothing that had finished. “Well, that’s mine done...but yours are all sorted now. It’s been nice chatting with you, Sam.”

She hurried over and emptied the dryer into her laundry basket. 

“You too, Mercedes,” he threw her a million-dollar grin as he carried his remaining laundry over to the other washing machines. “Thanks for your help.”

“No problem.”

On her way upstairs Mercedes couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. Sam was so funny. And so cute! Why were the good ones never actually datable?

\-----

A few days later Sam knocked on her door. 

“Hi.”

“Hey, um. Do you wanna maybe watch a movie or something?”

“Like go to a movie? Right now?” Mercedes glanced down at herself in her sweatpants and slippers.

“Or stay home and watch something.” He shrugged. “I mean, it’s ok if you don’t want to. It’s just Blaine is working late tonight and I thought it might be nice to do something with the two of us.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” She thought for a moment, and then stepped back and gestured for him to come in. “My couch is pretty soft, and I have netflix hooked up to my television, so do you want to stay here?”

Sam grinned. “That sounds awesome.” 

Mercedes felt both excited and awkward. Obviously this wasn’t a date, but it felt a little bit like one… 

She popped some popcorn and they sat on the couch watching  _ The Princess Bride _ , making comments to each other throughout the whole thing, and throwing popcorn at the screen whenever the villains were shown.

It was one of the most fun nights Mercedes had spent in a long time.

\-----

The next day, Mercedes opened her door to find Blaine standing outside.

“Hi,” he beamed, holding out a foil-covered plate. “I’m so glad you’re home! I brought you some fudge to say thanks for your warm welcome to the apartments.”

“Oh it was no problem--”

“Ok then,” Blaine continued. “To say thanks for helping Sam with the laundry the other day.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “I love the guy but he’s a little clueless about laundry. He used to just throw everything into one load, can you believe that?” He shook his head fondly.

Mercedes chuckled. “That was really no problem either, but you’re welcome. And thank you for the fudge, it smells amazing!”

She paused, and they both stared at each other for an awkward moment before Mercedes asked Blaine if he’d like to come in for a few minutes.”

“Actually, yes, if that’s ok?”

“Sure, I’m not doing anything particular,” she shrugged, grabbing the remote and clicking the television off. “A little company would be nice.”

“Yeah,” Blaine smiled wryly. “I get lonely when I’m home by myself. I mean, I know independence is good and all, and I  _ am _ independent,” he assured her with sincere, wide eyes. “But I prefer having someone around.”

“I get that--” Mercedes started, but Blaine was on a roll now.

“I keep thinking that it’s going to be easier when I’m married, you know? Like that somehow the fact of being married will make it all different?” He scratched his head and stared off into the distance a little, almost as though talking to himself. “But I know it won’t really. I mean living with someone isn’t that different whether you’re married to them or not, so being married will probably be basically like being roommates. Except for the tax deductions. And the sex.” He turned pink a little as he glanced back at Mercedes. “Sorry.”

Mercedes tried to brush it off to keep the moment from getting any more awkward. “No, it’s fine.” She cleared her throat. “So, you’re getting married?”

“Yeah!” Blaine proudly waved his finger at her and for the first time she noticed a slender gold band there. “In September.”

“Wow, that’s soon!”

“Yeah,” he grinned until his eyes crinkled. “People keep saying we’re so young, but we’re it for each other, you know? Sometimes you just know that he’s the one.”

“That’s what I’ve heard,” Mercedes agreed.

“Do you have someone?”

Mercedes shook her head. “Not in quite a while, no. I don’t know if I’m just too busy to meet potential guys, or maybe I intimidate them…”

“Well, you are a whole lotta!” Blaine blurted.

Oh, she liked this guy. “I couldn’t have said it better myself!”

“Well,” Blaine said, reaching across the table to take her hand. “Maybe I can help you find someone. What’s your type?”

_ Sam _

“Oh, I don’t know,” she hedged. “Mostly I just want a nice guy who respects me and who will pamper me a little. Someone who wants to be with me, but isn’t too needy either. I want a guy I can take home to my parents, but who I can also take out for a night on the town. Someone who will cuddle me when I’m cold, but who isn’t threatened by the fact that I have my own career either.”

“Well that’s a tall order,” Blaine teased.

“I like tall, too.”

Blaine laughed. “Don’t we all?!

\-----

Two more weeks passed before the day Mercedes saw  _ him _ . Unfortunately,  _ he _ was not the perfect man for her (although he was quite attractive); no, he was the man who was going to ruin Sam’s life.

She was just starting down the hallway on her way out for work when she saw someone unfamiliar in the hallway. 

He stopped her and asked quietly, “Do you know which apartment is Blaine Anderson’s?”

Mercedes frowned, but pointed toward B1. The man grinned. “Thanks, I wanted to surprise him! I just got back into town and I haven’t seen his new place yet.”

Mercedes wasn’t sure what to say, so she clamped her mouth shut and went to work.

\-----

After a long day of thinking about the situation, Mercedes had concluded that she needed to learn more before she jumped to conclusions. The man in the hallway was probably just an old friend of Blaine’s, right? 

Maybe.

She just had a gut feeling that he was...something else.

So on the way home that night she decided to stop by their apartment.

She rapped sharply on the door, and Blaine answered it several minutes later wearing only a pair of sweats and running his hand through disheveled hair.

“Hey Mercedes, what’s up?”

“I, uh…” whoops, she hadn’t planned out this part! As her mind fumbled for what to say, Mercedes saw all she needed to see. The man from the hallway came out from the direction of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. His hair was wet and he was combing it as he came into the room. 

“Hey Blaine, do you have a...oh! Hi! Thanks for helping me find the right apartment this morning!” He shot a wink at her and disappeared into the bedroom.

Mercedes’ jaw dropped and she stared at Blaine. 

“Mercedes, let me introduce you to--”

“No!” she shouted, and ran down the hall to her own apartment.

She had suspected, but now that it was real it was ten times worse than it had been in her imagination. 

How could Blaine cheat on Sam? Where was his sense of shame?!

How could he?

\-----

Mercedes didn’t know what to do. Someone she cared about was being cheated on--by his fiance of all people. She had to say something or do something, but what?

Sam needed to know, obviously. But Blaine probably should be the one to tell him, shouldn’t he? Not that Mercedes felt any sympathy for him, but if he confessed in person then Sam could throw a glass of water in his face or something.

And with that Mercedes knew what she wanted to do.

So she invited Blaine and Sam over for dinner.

\-----

Dinner was a little tense. Mercedes was still trying to figure out what to say to get them to talk to each other about it. Meanwhile Blaine and Sam both chatted cheerily, and it was halfway through the meal before Blaine finally looked at her and said, “Mercedes, are you ok?”

“You don’t seem quite yourself,” Sam agreed. “I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, plus this dinner is awesome. But what is going on?”

Mercedes took a deep breath and dove in. “Sam, I think Blaine has something to tell you.”

Sam’s gaze jumped to Blaine with an expectant expression, while Blaine stared at Mercedes in confusion.

“I have something to tell him?”

Mercedes nodded. “If you don’t tell him, I will.”

“Tell me what?” Sam seemed both excited and worried at once. “What’s going on you guys?”

“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Blaine assured Sam. 

“You don’t know,” Mercedes huffed. 

“But I think she’s going to tell us…”

Mercedes glared at Blaine. “Tell him about who I saw in your apartment yesterday.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “You had someone over and didn’t tell me?”

“You’re an engaged man,” Mercedes hissed at Blaine. “I can’t believe you--”

She was interrupted by Blaine’s laughter as the realization dawned for him.

“Oh Mercedes! That was not what it looked like.”

“What wasn’t what it looked like?” Sam asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Kurt is back in town, his tour finished a couple of days early and he came right over to surprise me.”

“Awesome!” Sam high-fived Blaine. “And I totally understand why you didn’t mention it. You two needed a little time to yourselves, I’m sure.”

“It’s been three months,” Blaine nodded.

Mercedes’ mouth was hanging open and she was staring back and forth between them.

“What did I miss?” she finally asked. “What is going on?”

“Kurt’s my fiance,” Blaine explained. “He has been touring with that revival of  _ Singin in the Rain _ and just got home. We hadn’t seen each other since I moved in here.”

“But…” Mercedes gestured between the two of them.

“Sam is my best friend.”

Sam started laughing, his smile wide and his voice hearty. “Oh, you thought… Ha! I’m straight, Mercedes. Blaine and I are best friends and roommates. We’re not dating.”

“Kurt and I agreed that it didn’t make sense to kick Sam out when he was going to be leaving on tour anyway. So even when Kurt and I got engaged, Sam and I just kept on being roommates.”

“The other guy is your fiance…” Mercedes mumbled to herself as the parts started settling into place in her brain. “And Sam is…”

“Interested in you, actually,” Blaine blurted.

Both Mercedes and Sam’s heads snapped toward him.

“Oh!” Mercedes wasn’t really ready to think in words yet, and then this latest revelation...

“Blaine!” the blond hissed.

“Man, you have been trying to figure out how to approach her for weeks. We’re all pouring our hearts out here, it seemed like a good moment to bring it up.” Blaine reached over and playfully slugged his friend on the shoulder. “You’re welcome.”

Sam turned back and looked at Mercedes. “I, um.”

“Yes.”

“What?” Sam looked confused, and oh that was an adorable look on him.

“Yes,” Mercedes repeated. “I’m interested too.”

Sam slowly slid his hand across the table to find hers, while Blaine sat back in his seat, folded his arms across his chest, and beamed in satisfaction.


End file.
